Metallurgical Investigation of Defects in Super Alloy 718 Mill Forms Intended for Aerongine Applications

Super alloy 718 finds extensive utilization, particularly in aero engine industry, due to its excellent strength, low cycle fatigue and creep resistance. The alloy was manufactured using vacuum induction melting followed by vacuum arc remelting techniques. The electrodes, after thermo-mechanical processing to hot rolled square bar and flat forms, were ultrasonically inspected prior to machining of aeroengine compressor blades. During machining, crack-like defects were noticed. Visual / Stereo microscopic examination revealed that the defect was along the length of airfoil and was located at mid airfoil width. The defects were filled with dark gray colored debris. Fractographic examination of the crack facets revealed flaky gray region containing number of cracks and bright region with dimpled rupture features covered with debris. Analysis of the debris indicated the presence of oxygen in addition to the elements present in the material, suggesting that the debris is essentially an oxide. These features were correlated with processing histories and defect morphologies.